Page 2 The Skanner February 24, 2016
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Opinion
Does Any Presidential Candidate ‘Deserve’ the
M
ichelle Alexander, the
brilliant author of The
New Jim Crow, writes
in The Nation that
Hillary Clinton does not “de-
serve” the Black vote.
She makes a strong case.
She reminds us that the Bill
Clinton administration yield-
ed a draconian crime bill and
welfare “deform” (I call it
“deform” instead of reform
because the Clinton chang-
es made a bad system worse)
that demonized poor women.
While Bill and Hillary Clin-
ton are two different peo-
ple, Alexander uses Hillary
quotes to illustrate the ways
she supported her husband’s
policies.
Alexander is right to say
that Hillary does not deserve
the Black vote. She declines
to endorse Bernie Sanders,
though, describing him as
“the lesser of two evils.” To
his credit, says Alexander,
Sanders opposed welfare de-
form and has been a far more
vocal and aggressive critic of
banks than Hillary. But Al-
exander says he still doesn’t
“get it” around issues of racial
justice, and notes that both
he and Hillary supported the
Iraq war.
I’m intrigued by the con-
cept of “deserving” a vote.
From my perspective, Bernie
doesn’t deserve it, Hillary
doesn’t deserve it — and none
of the motley crew of Republi-
can candidates deserve it.
No Democrat or Republican
has ever deserved the Black
vote.
The dictionary defines “de-
serve” as, “to do something or
Julianne
Malveaux
NNPA
Columnist
have or show qualities worthy
of (reward or punishment).”
To say someone “deserves”
the Black vote suggests that
someone is entitled to it or
has a right to it. I don’t think
any candidate has a right to
the Black vote.
Frankly, with the possible
“
Labor, condemning the ways
that Lani Guinier and Jocelyn
Elders were abandoned by
the Clintons, and balancing
policy failures like welfare
deform with some policy suc-
cesses. On the other hand, Hil-
lary Clinton’s standalone re-
cord includes a sensitivity to
diversity that Sanders lacks.
As a Senator and as Secretary
of State, she had staffs that
were very inclusive, with sev-
eral African American wom-
en, in particular, serving in
leadership roles in the State
Department.
Her record shows that, as
No Democrat or Republican has
ever deserved the Black vote
exception of Lyndon Johnson
in 1964 (after the passage of
the Civil Rights Act) and Rev.
Jesse Jackson (after his histo-
ry of activism) I don’t think
any Democrat (or Republi-
can) ever has, for that matter.
What has either Hillary or
Bernie done to “deserve” the
Black vote?
No candidate should claim
the sentimental right to the
Black vote either, and I think
in some ways that is what Hil-
lary Clinton is attempting.
As Alexander correctly
points out in her article, some
African Americans are al-
most irrationally loyal to the
Clintons. Many other African
Americans, though, have a
measured view of the Clinton
years, celebrating historic ap-
pointments, like that of Alex-
is Herman as Secretary of
President, she would contin-
ue her commitment to diver-
sity and that we might finally
have a cabinet that “looks like
America.”
Does her commitment to
diversity alone make her enti-
tled to the Black vote?
The Black vote should be
earned, not bequeathed. But
too many African Americans
seem to think that voting is
the most — not the least —
they can do.
We must vote for politicians
based on their track record
and also on their promises.
But then we must hold them
accountable so that they keep
their promises.
We didn’t do it with Clinton
in 1996 when we voted for him
even after welfare deform.
We didn’t do it with Obama
in 2012, when we voted for
him after a disappointing
first term. African Ameri-
cans, like others, must make
demands of those who hold
public office, or they are free
to ignore us.
The challenge is that our
two-party system too often
fails to provide us with a sat-
isfactory set of alternatives
to the status quo. While I was
disappointed with President
Obama’s first term, I proba-
bly would have cut my hand
off before voting for Mitt
Romney. Similarly, as disap-
pointing as Clinton’s welfare
deform was, another Clinton
term was far preferable to a
Bob Dole presidency. We too
often are faced with imper-
fect options, and with choos-
ing the lesser of two evils.
Alexander addresses the
flaws of the two-party system
in her article, and talks about
a “revolutionary movement”
of people who believe that hu-
man rights and economic jus-
tice are attainable goals.
There won’t be a revolution-
ary movement before Nov.
7, 2016. So who deserves the
Black vote? The candidate
who works hardest for it. The
candidate who addresses the
Black community most di-
rectly and with the most rele-
vance. The candidate who not
only schedules very public
meetings with Rev. Al Sharp-
ton, but less-well covered
meetings at a day care center,
in a halfway house, in a hospi-
tal.
The Black vote should not
be something a candidate
deserves. It should be some-
thing a candidate earns!
Hillary and Bernie Re-Discover Black People
O
ne thing is for sure:
Black folks are enjoying
this latest political mat-
ing dance with Bernie
Sanders and Hillary Clinton.
Sanders is discovering
Black people in South Caroli-
na and Georgia, and Clinton
has reopened the “leading
Blacks” vault to rediscover
their loyalty and willingness
to present her to the Black
electorate one mo’ time, y’all.
Sanders, after years with-
out doing anything specific
for the 1 percent Black pop-
ulation of his home state --
much less for Black people in
general -- has now discovered
(or rediscovered) his love and
concern for us.
In the vast majority of cas-
es it is really a case of Black
people discovering Sanders,
because most Blacks knew
absolutely nothing about him
prior to a few months ago, but
for Ed Schultz and Black folks’
penchant for watching MSN-
BC. Sanders started out by
traipsing up to Harlem, cam-
eras in tow of course, to sip
tea with Sharpton at a Black
restaurant.
James
Clingman
NNPA
Columnist
Uncle Bernie then goes to
MLK’s alma mater, More-
house, and tells thousands of
Black folks how much he loves
them now and how much he
will do for them—now.
“
Black folks that Sanders has
no street cred, because Lewis
“never met him” back in the
days of fire-hoses, dogs, and
Billy clubs. (Maybe Lewis had
a concussion back then and
simply forgot.) Hillary then
got members of the Black Cau-
cus to endorse her, a monu-
mental victory that will sure-
ly bring home the ultimate
victory. After all, we cast be-
tween 93 and 95 percent of
our precious votes for Barack
in both elections, and he won.
Meanwhile, Republicans have con-
tinued their strategy of ignoring
Black people
It’s almost like he is wak-
ing up from his five-decade “I
marched with MLK” respite
and discovering he cannot
win without the Black vote.
He is pulling out all the con-
descending platitudes to get
the Black vote, and Black folks
are lovin’ it.
Mama Hillary called on old
standby, John Lewis, to tell
Why not the same thing this
year for Clinton?
Meanwhile,
Republicans
have continued their strate-
gy of ignoring Black people
by saying absolutely nothing
on our behalf or in support
of issues that specifically per-
tain to Black voters. But why
should they? We are “all in”
for the Dems.
One practical question to
ask candidates who are run-
ning around our neighbor-
hoods, churches, and college
campuses seeking our votes:
“How much campaign money
have you spent with Black-
owned media, i.e. newspa-
pers, radio?”
That’s just one of many acts
of reciprocity and the bare
minimum of what we should
demand. If they do as the
current POTUS did in 2012 —
spend one-tenth of 1 percent
with Black media — don’t sup-
port them until they increase
that amount, and then move
on to the next demand.
Stop allowing them to use
and insult you, and stop slob-
bering over this latest discov-
ery process.
Black people have been in
this country since the show
started.
James Clingman is the na-
tion’s most prolific writer on
economic empowerment for
Black people. His latest book,
Black Dollars Matter! Teach
your dollars how to make more
sense, is available on his web-
site, Blackonomics.com.